Ghisingh to hold meet to rejuvenate party

DARJEELING, Nov. 4: Reports that Gorkha National Liberation Front in its endeavour to rejuvenate the party's organisational set-up in the Hills will hold a public meeting at Darjeeling in December with their president Mr. Subhash Ghisingh as the main orator, has raised much hue and cry amongst the general public here.

A sensational piece of news in a local daily today claimed that eight GNLF ex-councillors sans Mr. Ghisingh convened a secret meeting at an undisclosed location situated along Sevoke Road in Siliguri and reviewed the current political situation in the Hills. The party apparently intends to take advantage of the discontent brewing against the GJMM's “undemocratic acts” to gain its lost ground. This, however, would depend on the outcome of the upcoming tripartite meet on Gorkhaland, the failure of which would prove beneficial for the GNLF.

After the shooting episode from GNLF ex-councillor Deepak Gurung's house that killed a GJMM supporter, the party was reduced to a non-existent status with Mr. Ghisingh and other leaders fleeing the Hills for safer grounds and fourteen others arrested under murder charges. The rejection by the people was such that even the dead body of Ghisingh's wife was not allowed burial in Darjeeling. People in the hilltown appeared apprehensive at the prospect of the banished GNLF leader and his entourage making a comeback in the political scenario. “Ghisingh had met his fate for exploiting us for 22 years. But now that he is contemplating a return we are back to square one”, rued a local resident.

Others, though, view it as the state government's conspiracy to disrupt the tripartite meeting. “The timing of such a meeting proves that the CPIM led government is using the GNLF leaders as pawns to harm the tripartite negotiation with the Centre. They are trying to disillusion the people from the vision of Gorkhaland”, said another resident. Meanwhile, the GJMM will organise massive rallies in three Hill sub-divisions to conclude its cultural programme on 7 November.